Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-05-27
9ai19RE eagle
HOW TO DRIVE WE'LL.
A VETERAN OF THE TURF GIVES
A BIT OF EXPERIENCE.

A BIT OF EXPERIENCE.
Need of a Level Head and Strong Arms.
Disposition of the Owner-A Lover of
Horses-John Splan-False Starts.
ut seems to me-" said William e. Weeks,
In recent interview, 'that what man most
needs to be a good driver in race is a level
head. Special athletic training is not essen
tial to fit one for work in the sulky, though it
Is desirable that man should be reasonably
muscular, for there are horses who are hard
to manage, and il man wasn't strong
enough he might find that the horse was the
master and would run away. But the exer-
else of driving and the healthful influence OF
the open air are generally sufficient to put an
ordinary man in the required physical con-
dition. The main strain is in the fore arm,
and good shoulders are naturally adVan-
tageous to driver when he has an energetic
horse to handle. But no man can do without
level head, and in this respect experience
will often supply one after time with what
he may have lacked at the beginning.
"The fact is that driving is exactly like
any other line Of work or sport, the man who
is faithful to it, other things being equal,
will succeed, though good driver may not
make much success at the pool box. mean,
of course, that steady application will make a
man good driver and secure due recognition.
OF course man may be pursued by i'll luck,
and man who is really good driver may be
so situated as not to win many victories,
while on the other hand a man may have the
good luck TO make sudden success that viii
bring him all the business opportunities he
can ask for"
THE STRAIN OF DRIVING.
as the work of driving exhausting either
physically or nervouslyP
II don't find it So a young driver may get
excited and feel the Strain nervously after it
is all over, but it gets to be matter Of bust
ness very soon and a man doesn't mind it.
If am ever inclined to anxiety it is when l
am driving for personal friend who wants
his horse TO win. Then would rather any
time lose my pay for the work than lose the
race. l feel worse about such race than
when l have a lot of my own money in the
pool box. That reminds me of one important
feature of drivers cares-the disposition of
the owner. 1t sometimes takes more tact and
nerve to manage one owner than all his horses.
The owner may be bent on winning, may be-
ieve his horse is capable Of it when the driver
is confident that it isn't in the animal Then
it is hard for the driver. He may persuade
the owner, if possible, to abandon hope of
winning, and that is often no simple thing.
And again the owner may have his own ideas
about how the horse should be driven, and
they are pretty likely to differ with those of
the driver. The condition of things brought
about by such a conflict of opinion can be
imagined lust as well as described
",Should a driver know all about horses and
do everything for those that he drives on the
courSes"
"Yes and no. A man ought to be lover
of horses; his tastes should be strong in favor
of the animal, and he should know all he
can learn about their ways and habits and
peculiarities. There is as much difference,
though, in individual horses as there is in
men; SO the work with horses is an amending
study. BY knowing what there is to learn
about horses in general a trainer may often
be enabled to devise helps for individuals and
original methods and treatment for them. But
as to doing everything for horses a man
drives / shall say 10. There are few drivers
who are successful at both kinds Of work.
JOHN SPLAY's METHODS
aJohn Splan used TO combine them and take
oil care OF his horse, rubbing as well as driv
ing; but besides him | can think of only one
or two Others of the successful drivers who do
that 1t seems TO be the rule that the man
who is good ct rubbing and looking after the
details OF a horses stable life is not good for
driving. The training for driver is to be
found only in the sulky. Given the natural
taste for horses and the requisite strength and
level head, and a man can make a driver by
getting the actual experience of driving in
races. Such man cannot help improving
as a driver the longer he keeps at it,"
"Do drivers purposely bring about the
many false starts that SO often characterize
trotting events!'
1No, sir. That is a point that the public
seems never to understand. 1t is no easy
thing TO get half dozen or more horses to
score evenly. OF course, there is a good deal
of figuring to get an advantageous position
at the start, and it may sometimes happen
that driver will pull up when approaching
the line, but that is very seldom tine case. 1t
Is more desirable to get fair start than to
run the risk of distressing horse by several
successive trials The trouble comes in the
horses themselves. Suppose, for instance,
that all the horses were coming to the score
favorably ard you were in Just such a posi-.
tion relatively as you would like, when one
Of the competitors breaks; now do all you
may to hold your horse back lie is liable to
get ahead and spoil the start Many a time
have sat in the grand stand and heard peo-
pie about me complain of the numerous false
starts, saying that if tie drivers chose to
they could easily enough get away. One
couldn't say anything 10. convince them TO
the contrary, and yet | knew that it was not
the drivers fault at all. Philadelphia Times